Soldier's son is on a mission to track down WWII vets his father sketched during the war

Dube's son believes that most of these men may be in the 27 Infantry Division, 105th Infantry Regiment.
(Photo: Ira Dube)

Sgt. Stan Dube served in the 27 Infantry Division, 105th Infantry Regiment in the Central Pacific during World War II. When he wasn't on duty, Dube passed his time by sketching, and his favorite subjects were the other soldiers in his unit. Now, more than 70 years later, Dube's son, Ira, has found a stack of those sketches, and he is on a mission to return them to the soldiers' families.

Recently, when the younger Dube was cleaning out his sister's attic, he came across a portfolio of his father's artwork including oil paintings, water colors and sketches. Ira realized fairly quickly that the subjects of these sketches were men who served alongside his father. And that meant many of them probably also fought in the infamous Battle of Saipan — a battle many called the turning point in the war, but one that also took the lives of more than 3,000 American soldiers.

In other words, Ira Dube was reasonably sure at least some of the men in his father's sketches never made it home from the war. If that's the case, these sketches may be among the last images that exist of these men. Ira knew he had to return these sketches to the solders' families.

"[These men] need to be remembered and honored and I just want to find them a home," Ira told Fox News.

Unfortunately, Stan Dube passed away in 2009, so there's no way to verify the names of the soldiers with the artist.

That's why Ira has turned to the internet. He's hoping to harness the power of social media to find homes for his father's sketches. Thus far, Ira has been in contact with the families of two of the soldiers his father drew, but he is still hoping to find the others. In addition to speaking to various news agencies, Ira has been in touch with military museums in New York, California and Hawaii as well as the infantry headquarters for his father's unit, and several WWII sites and VFW Posts.

If you have any information about the men in these sketches, contact Ira Dube at ira.dube@yahoo.com.

Soldier sketches created by Sgt. Stan Dube, who served in the 27 Infantry Division, 105th Infantry Regiment in the Central Pacific during WWII.